Download Stearns 6

The First Global Civilization: The Rise and Spread of Islam
&
Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islamic Civilization to South and Southeast Asia
STEARNS 6 AND 7
GEOGRAPHY MATTERS
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Desert
 Clanish
Bedouin
 Camel and goat herding
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Scattered Oases
 Areas
of commerce and agriculture
 Tradition of long-distance trade
CLANS, IDENTITIES, RIVALRIES
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Desert-living promotes group dependence
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Conflict over water and pastures
CULTURE
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Majority polytheistic; small Jewish populations
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Less patriarchal
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Women had economic roles in clan life
Descent traced through female line
Men paid a “bride-price” to wife’s family
Both genders could have multiple spouses
Women not shrouded in veils
BUT men still considered superior, especially in cities
Poetry
MUHAMMAD AND ISLAM

6th Century C.E.
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Orphaned, raised in a merchant family
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Widely travelled; introduced to monotheism
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610 C.E. first revelation from Gabriel
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Revelations collected in the Qur’an
ISLAMIC TRIUMPH

Initial oppression by Quraysh
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Mecca v. Medina
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629 C.E. conquest of Mecca
ISLAM’S CONSEQUENCES

End of clan conflicts
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New missionary zeal

Problem of succession
UMAYYAD EMPIRE

Ethnically Arab
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Governed by warrior elite
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Establishment of the Caliph
 Seeds of Sunni-Shi’a Split

Rapid expansion
 Mesopotamia, North Africa, Persia
 Later Spain, France, Northwestern India
 Unable to topple Byzantines

Economic motives as important as religious motives
 Desire to conquer for booty
 Need to limit converts to secure taxes and shares in booty
 Role of the Dhimmi (“People of the Book”)
SUNNI-SHI’A SPLIT

Succession struggle
 Third
Caliph, Uthman, murdered
 Ali wins caliphate but rejected by Umayyads
 Umayyads promote Mu’awiya; assassinate Ali

Shi’a recognize only Ali’s line for caliphate
NEW FAMILY AND GENDER ROLES

Initial improvement for women
Conquered areas had been strictly patriarchal
 Muhammad promoted equality before Allah
 Adultery denounced
 Female infanticide outlawed
 Men had to treat all wives (up to four) equally
 Women had legal rights in inheritance and divorce


But patriarchal cultures of conquered people
prevails

These mores not to be confused with Islamic belief
UMAYYAD DECLINE

Expansion creates new tensions
 Unequal
distribution of booty
 Fear that luxury and conquest at the expense of
Islamic principles
 Men in provinces develop regional loyalties

Abbasid clan revolts, 750.
 Allies
with Shi’a; assassinate most Umayyad
leaders
ABBASID EMPIRE

Less “Arab” identity (so many regional identities)
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Bureaucratic expansion
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Capital moved to Baghdad
Elevation of Persian ruling concepts
Persian influence
Power of wazir
Absolutism

Actual office of royal executioner!
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Turned against Shi’a allies; support less tolerant Sunni

Enjoyed luxurious living
NEW ISLAM
No more distinction between Mawali and older
believers
 Most conversions peaceful
 New artistic expression

Mosque and palace construction
 Islamic scholarship alongside mathematics and science

Sufism
 Ulama—will ultimately stifle mathematic and
scientific achievements
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ABBASID ECONOMY

Preeminence of merchant and landlord classes
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Urban expansion
Artisan handicraft
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Goods traded from South China Sea to the Western
Mediterranean
Tapestries
Rugs
Ceramics
Bronzes
Glass
Tenant farming
Slavery
SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Chemistry
created the objective experiment
 Classification of material substances

 Animal
 Vegetable
 Mineral
Mathematics: built on Greek theories
 Astrolabe
 Medicine
 Paper-making (from China)
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ABBASID DECLINE
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Begins in 9th century
Overly luxurious living
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Caliphs depend on Persian advisors
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The Thousand and One Nights
Persian becomes the court language and literary preference; Arabic for
religion, law, and natural sciences
Weaker caliphs
More court intrigue
Peasant revolts
Slave armies
Increased tax burdens
Abandonment of agricultural villages
Failure to reconcile with moderate Shi’a
Succession disputes
WOMEN’S SOCIAL DECLINE

Myth of women’s incurable lust
 Leads
to jealousy
 Need to cloister them
 Harem and veil symbolize this

Poor women were more active—had to be
NO-GOOD NOMADS

Persian Buyids capture Baghdad, 945
 Caliphs

controlled by sultans
Seljuk Turks defeat Buyids, 1055
 Push
Byzantines out of Anatolia
 Purge Shi’a

Mongols sack Baghdad, 1258—end Abbasid
CRUSADES

Causes
 Political
 Religious
 Cultural

Effects
 For
Europeans
 For Muslims
HINDUISM V. ISLAM

Hinduism
Open
 Tolerant
 Inclusive polytheism
 Social division by caste


Islam
Doctrinaire
 Monotheistic
 Evangelical
 Egalitarian

MUSLIMS INVADE INDIA

Umayyad conquered first

Treat Hindus as Dhimmi

Many Hindus welcome Muslim conquerors



Lower taxes
Not much effort to convert; tolerant
Missionary activity by traders and Sufis


Appeal to low and outcaste Hindus
Many Buddhist converts

Mosques become centers of learning and regional political power

Hindu revival and backlash


Brahmins denounce Muslims for destroying temples
Use of the Race Card
INDIA’S INFLUENCE

India influenced Islam more than Islam
influenced India
 Mathematics
(numbers)
 Science and astronomy
 Medicine
 Music
 Foods, hierarchies, and attitudes toward women
ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Spread peacefully through trading contacts

More influenced by Sufi
 More
mystical
 Better positions for women